Like most Vermonters, I’m worried about the rapid rise of serious, drug-related crime in our state — crimes like home invasions, burglary and armed robbery. For years, Vermont seemed a safe haven from drug crime, which destroys individual lives and entire communities.

That sense of safety was an illusion. Over the past decade, serious drug-related crime has invaded and spread across Vermont. In January, two people carrying 100 bags of heroin were arrested in Berlin. Meth labs — often perverse versions of mom and pop stores — have been discovered in Barre, Island Pond and St. Johnsbury. Notorious for exploding and spewing toxic chemicals, meth labs seriously endanger people and the environment. Worse, these labs can be mobile, with the drug being cooked in and sold from a car, as happened in St. Albans. Though drug dealers may not have set up housekeeping in your neighborhood, they may already be doing business there.

During the 15 years Attorney General William Sorrell has been in office, drug crime has steadily worsened and, during the past 18 months, exploded. Yet, Mr. Sorrell focuses on issues like campaign finance law, despite (as he was forced to admit to the U.S. Supreme Court while arguing Randall v. Sorrell) his having never prosecuted a single case of political corruption.

Vermont needs an attorney general who will focus on actual, not theoretical, crimes. As attorney general, Jack McMullen will do so. He has a clear, workable plan that will remove dangerous drug dealers and violent criminals from our streets and that will provide young nonviolent offenders with rehabilitation and treatment.

Vermonters have the right to feel safe in their homes and communities, and to have an attorney general whose primary commitment is to making Vermont safe again — as Jack McMullen is committed to doing.